June 3, 2002--The Crab Cake Cook-Off, sponsored by the University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program and the College of Marine Studies, is always a popular activity at UD’s Coast Day festival. Although the contest is still a few months away, now is the time to start testing your recipe.

Since the contest was established in 1990, recipes with all manner of names and ingredients have been submitted by professional and amateur cooks from the Delmarva area who hope to have the recipe that will win the coveted title of “Delaware’s Best Crab Cakes.”

Last year, Georges “Geo” Johnson of Frankford won first place with his “Crab-Cake-Abella.” Johnson’s crab cakes were named for his unique presentation – each crab cake was placed in the cap of a roasted portabella mushroom on a small bed of spinach and topped with a special sauce, which included lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.

This year, Johnson will not be competing in the cook-off, but instead has been invited to be one of the judges at the competition. Eight finalists will compete for cash prizes ($150 for first place, $100 for second place, and $75 for third place) and recognition in the cook-off on Coast Day, Sunday, Oct. 6, at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes.

“Crab cakes are a favorite treat of seafood lovers in Delaware and throughout the United States,” according to Doris Hicks, seafood technology specialist for the UD’s Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service and the event’s organizer. “Here at the Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, we are getting ready for our 13th annual Crab Cake Cook-Off at Coast Day. We expect many professionals and non-professionals to send us their favorite or latest recipe.”

The crab cakes must be made from 100 percent blue-crab meat; all other types of crab meat are unacceptable. Each contestant will receive two pounds of blue-crab meat to use the day of the competition. All other ingredients and cooking utensils are the contestants’ responsibility. Judging will be based on originality, predominance of crab meat, taste, and texture.

The 10-year anniversary of the Crab Cake Cook-Off in 1999 prompted Hicks to collect all of the award-winning recipes, which were then published in a commemorative "Coast Day Crab Cake Cookbook." The 50-page spiral-bound booklet is available from the Marine Public Education Office in Newark at (302) 831-8083 or the Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service in Lewes at (302) 645-4346. The cookbook costs $3.

Entries are due Friday, August 16. For a complete set of contest rules and an entry form, or for more information, contact the UD Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service at (302) 645-4346, or Rita Baty at rbaty@udel.edu.